Deadly research
by shadowdancer97
Summary: Emily wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there. A man claims that she volunteered to help him with his research. However Emily soon finds out that his research might break her completely. Can the team find her before it's too late? Do they even know she's been kidnapped?
1. waking up

**Deadly research**

_Emily wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there. A man claims that she volunteered to help him with his research. However Emily soon finds out that his research might break her completely. Can the team find her before it's too late? Do they even know she's been kidnapped? _

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters._

_Story is set in season 7_

* * *

_Chapter one_

A soft beeping noise made its way into her unconscious mind slowly waking up Emily. Was it her alarm clock? Was it time to go to work already? No, her alarm had a much more irritating sound. Her body, content with the conclusion that it didn't have to get up, slipped into the world of dreams once again.

But a little voice in the back of her head kept telling her that there was something wrong. The beeping sound didn't belong in her house. Neither did the complete silence between the beeping. Lazily Emily opened her eyes. Only to squeeze them shut immediately when she was met with a bright light. She pried her eyes open again and let them adjust to the lighting. The ceiling was white and two fluorescent lamps stared down at her.

Suddenly it clicked. The beeping noise, the silence, the white ceiling, the fact that she was clearly not in her own bedroom. Emily let out a groan and closed her eyes again. She was in a hospital. She hated those damn things. She probably hit her head again judging from the fact that she couldn't remember what happened.

"Alright, what happened this time?" she asked jokingly. Expecting a playful remark from Morgan that she shouldn't bump her head into everything she saw. Instead she was greeted by silence and of course the constant beeping. She frowned. If she was in a hospital, at least one of her teammates would be at her side. Opening her eyes again Emily checked her surroundings.

She was in a room with white walls and no windows. There were different machines lined up against the wall and she saw that she was indeed hooked up to a heartbeat monitor. Although the room looked like it belonged in a hospital. She was certain that that wasn't her location at the moment. She shivered. Looking down she saw that she was only wearing a white tank top and some shorts. Those weren't hers. She shivered at the thought of someone removing her clothing whilst she was unconscious. Emily also noticed thick leather straps binding her wrists and ankles to some sort of metal table. Not good, not good at all. She tried to pull her wrist out of her bounds but they wouldn't budge.

She was fully awake now. What had happened? Was she kidnapped? Did they drug her? Why wasn't she wearing her own clothes? What was going to happen to her? All questions that she didn't have answers to. Emily took a shaking breath. She needed to calm down. Pushing her fear aside, she began pulling at the cuffs again.

A sound caught her attention. She listened carefully. There it was again. It was louder this time. Footsteps. Someone was coming. She took in a deep breath. Don't be afraid. Whatever you do, don't let them see that you're afraid. A creek. Very close this time. She heard a lock being turned and slowly the door opened.

She made herself ready. She knew that she probably wasn't going to like what was going to happen very soon. The way she was left on the table made it clear that she wasn't there for a nice cup of tea. Maybe it was someone with a grudge against the BAU wanting his revenge. Images of previous cases and previous unsubs ran through her head. Many of them had a good reason to hate her team. But he or she had taken her. Why? Was it random? Did it just had to be one of the BAU team? Or was it something personal against her? Once again she cursed the fact that she couldn't remember anything.

A man stepped into the room she was being held. Emily studied him. He looked young. Late twenties, early thirties. Skinny, not strong at all. He couldn't have overpowered her, could he? Maybe he ambushed her. Stuck a drug filled syringe into her before she could react when she was walking home. But she did come home. She remembered putting her gun and badge away like she always did. Why couldn't she remember anything after that?

She hated that she had no answers. She didn't like to be the victim. It made her feel vulnerable and vulnerable was not something Emily Prentiss was used to. But she wasn't a victim. She was an FBI agent. She was strong and she could handle everything the son of a bitch would throw at her. A sudden rush of adrenaline shot through her body. It didn't matter who he was but she swore he was going to regret taking her.

He walked towards the table she was lying on. He looked at her and she looked back. Taunting him.

"Hello agent Prentiss. How are you feeling?"

His voice was sweet and he smiled kindly at her. She was confused. He sounded like he genuinely cared about her condition. Not someone who was about to take revenge.

"I'm a federal agent. I demand you to release me immediately."

Her tone firm, her voice not wavering for a second. She saw a flash of uncertainty in his eyes. It was a brief moment, but she was sure that she saw it right.

"I'm sorry agent Prentiss but you know I can't do that. You volunteered to help me with my research, remember?"

"I did not volunteer to be held against my will!"

She was angry now. She never volunteered to being kidnapped. No normal person would ever do that. He had to be crazy if he really believed that. Why would he even think that in the first place. She was certain that she had never met him. Or maybe she did. He had something familiar about him.

"You are not being held against you will. You gave me your permission, you signed the papers."

He was talking soothingly to her now. Like a parent who was talking to an unreasonable child. He had leaned closer into her and was stroking her hair. She had the urge to gag. Or to scream that he shouldn't touch her but she remained silent.

"Here, you see?"

He held up a piece of paper. Emily scanned it briefly and her eyes were drawn to the bottom of the paper. There, on a dotted line, was clearly her signature. Her eyes went wide. She couldn't have written that. But there was no doubt that that was her signature in her handwriting. Questions rose to the surface of her mind. Pushing them aside she focused on playing along for now.

"Then why am I restrained, doctor...?"

She guessed he was some sort of doctor because of the white coat he wore. Or he just pretended to be one. She carefully began trying to wriggle her right hand out of his restraint. If she got the chance she could overpower him easily. She wanted to be out of this place before she would find out what kind of research she 'volunteered' to help him with.

"Oh how rude of me. I am doctor Harrigan"

He stepped away from her and walked to a table by the wall. Emily tried to see what he was looking at. She could see some papers lying on the desk. Harrigan picked up some sort of file and started making some notes.

"You didn't answer my question. Why am I restrained?"

"I did not want you to hurt yourself. This is a new experience and a new place. I did not want you to be scared and maybe hurt yourself in the process. But I assure you agent Prentiss there is nothing to be afraid of."

Again that tone as if he was talking to a child. She was done with playing along. This man was clearly delusional. She could feel that the restraint on her wrist was getting looser. She smiled inwardly.

"My team will be looking for me and they will find you."

"I'm glad that you're thinking along. We wouldn't want your team to ruin the research, would we?"

Did he really think she would want her team to stay away?

"But don't worry. You already called one of your colleagues. Told her you were sick and couldn't come to work for a few days."

He was standing by her side again. Hovering over her.

"I called one of my teammates?" She asked sarcastic.

"Yes you did."

She laughed. That couldn't be true. He had to be lying. First with her coming willingly with him, then the signature and now saying that she lied to one of her colleagues about being sick.

"What is so funny?"

He sounded confused and a bit agitated.

"You're actually thinking I believe you when you tell me that I came with you willingly?"

She was trying to provoke him. Her wrist had slid out of the cuff. If he just stepped a little bit closer she was able to hit him square in the face.

"Oh I know what you're trying to do. You have gotten cold feet. But like I told you before there is nothing to be afraid of. You just have to be strong agent Prentiss."

His voice was kind again. Emily saw her opportunity when Harrigan stepped closer to stroke her hair. Her fist collided with his face and he fell down. Emily wasted no time and pulled at the buckles on the cuff of her other hand. She heard Harrigan groan. She had hoped that she had knocked him unconscious. She worked faster on the cuff. "Come on, come on, come on!" She muttered under her breath. Adrenaline rushed through her body. She felt her heart beating madly in her chest. Perfectly in sync with the heartbeat monitor.

Finally the cuff came loose. But the same moment she felt a little prick in her neck. She looked up in time to see Harrigan pushing the plunger of the syringe sending a transparent liquid into her body. She felt a cold substance travel its way through her body. Her muscles started to relax. All the adrenaline from a moment earlier vanished. Harrigan gently guided her body back on the table. Her mind screamed at her body to fight but it didn't matter. The drug slowly sending her into unconsciousness. The beeping reduced to a slow pace. Dark spots danced before her eyes. One last time she tried to fight it. However her eyes rolled back into her head. The last thing she heard send shivers down her spine.

"I didn't want to have to do that but you made me. Tomorrow we will begin with the first tests. Rest for now, you will need it…"

His voice wasn't kind anymore.

* * *

_To be continued..._


	2. Where's Prentiss?

**Deadly research**

_Emily wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there. A man claims that she volunteered to help him with his research. However Emily soon finds out that his research might break her completely. Can the team find her before it's too late? Do they even know she's been kidnapped? _

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters._

_Story is set in season 7_

* * *

_Chapter two_

"Hotch" JJ called out to her boss. "There's something I have to tell you"

Hotch turned around when he heard JJ call out his name. He saw the blonde profiler walk across the bullpen towards his office. He hoped it wasn't bad news.

"Hey JJ, good morning. Is something wrong?" he asked with a bit of concern in his eyes. He could feel that this would be more than just a nice morning chat.

"I don't know. Prentiss called me yesterday. Said she was feeling very sick and that she couldn't come to work for a few days."

Hotch could see the worry in her eyes. He knew that JJ and Emily were very close. "Okay, thank you for telling me JJ. I will handle it further."

"But Hotch, don't you think it's strange? She felt fine at work. Then a few hours later she feels too sick to come to work for a few days. Not waiting for the next morning to see if she feels better. You know how much she loves this job. Last time she was sick you had to order her to go home and take some rest."

Hotch knew that she had a point. Prentiss always came to work. No excuses, never. But there was nothing he could do. Maybe she was sick for real.

"I know that it's kind of strange coming from Prentiss but"

JJ interrupted him. "She told me that she was going to see a doctor, Hotch"

"Well, that is strange" He emphasized the word 'is'. Everyone knew that Prentiss wasn't a fan of hospitals or anything related to that. He had to admit that he was worried now too. Maybe he should go to her, make sure everything was alright. But he decided it was better if JJ went. He knew she was dying with concern.

"JJ, I would like you to go and check up on Prentiss. Make sure everything is fine. We have no cases today anyway, only paperwork. So take your time" He smiled at her.

Her eyes lit up. "Thanks Hotch. I'll call you as soon as I know something" She turned around and hurried out of the bullpen. Passing Morgan and Garcia, who just walked in.

"Hey JJ, where are you going?" Morgan asked. But she didn't answer. She practically ran into the elevator just as soon as the door closed. Morgan and Garcia looked confused. Both of them didn't know what had just happened.

"That was weird." Garcia said, still looking at the closed elevator doors.

"I know, babygirl. But JJ probably had a good reason." He flashed her one of his smiles and walked into the bullpen. He heard Garcia walk behind him. He saw Reid sitting at his desk already working on his stack of paperwork. Morgan groaned. He hated doing paperwork.

"Good luck, Derek" Garcia winked at him and walked towards her lair.

"Hey, what about me" Reid pretended to be hurt.

"You don't need it, my little genius"

After Garcia had practically yelled her last statement throughout the whole bullpen. Morgan plopped down at his chair. Looking miserable at the stack of files. No wonder that JJ left. He looked at Prentiss' desk but found it also empty. Probably also avoiding the paperwork. Suddenly he felt Reid stare at him. Morgan looked up and met his gaze.

"What?" He asked.

There was a moment of silence before Reid spoke.

"Nothing, I was just thinking"

"Aren't you always, kid?. But normally you don't have such a pained look on your face when you do it."

Reid sighed.

"I overheard a conversation from Hotch and JJ about Prentiss having called in sick…"

"Prentiss and sick. Now that is a combination you don't hear every day. She probably drank too much last night and is now sleeping of her hangover" Morgan smirked.

"A couple of days Morgan. She took a couple of days of. And she's going to see a doctor." Reid was talking fast now. Rambling on about what terrible diseases Prentiss could have.

"Wow wow, Reid. Did you say a doctor?! That's not good man. Prentiss would never willingly go see a doctor. You're not messing with me, huh?" Morgan asked wearingly.

Reid shook his head. It reminded Morgan a bit like a lost puppy.

"Hey Reid, I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe she just wants some time off. We all know that she had a hard time dealing with that whole Doyle thing and coming back here."

"Yeah, you're right. It's probably nothing."

Reid gave him a small smile and focused on his paperwork again. Morgan stared at him for just a moment more before he too turned to his paperwork. The conversation had left his stomach clenching. Was that why JJ was in such a hurry earlier? He looked at the empty desk of his partner again. Couldn't help but see the image of her rolling her eyes at him. Now he was the one overreacting a bit. He shook his head and opened the first case file.

* * *

JJ walked into the hallway of Emily's apartment building. She greeted the doorman. She was a familiar face to him. JJ and Emily had gotten much closer since her return. JJ smiled at the memory of her friend. JJ took the elevator to the floor of Emily's apartment. The hall was empty. She quickly walked towards Emily's door and knocked. Silence. She tried again.

"Emily, are you there? How are you feeling?"

Again no answer. JJ fumbled in her purse to get Emily's spare key. Emily had given her one for emergency's and this definitely felt like one. JJ unlocked the door and stepped inside. The lights were off. It didn't look like anyone was home. "Emily!" She tried again. She knew that it was in vain but she still had to try. She walked into the living room. No sign of Emily. She spotted a half full glass of wine on the kitchen counter. A uncomfortable feeling settled into her stomach.

She felt like there was something off. She found Emily's purse on the table. Phone and keys next to it. JJ could see Emily forgetting her purse or maybe her phone but her keys. She frowned. That just didn't make any sense. JJ finished her search of the place. Found Emily's gun and badge in their usual place. But still no sign of Emily. It looked like she just vanished from the place.

She was interrupted from her train of thoughts because of Sergio's meows. She walked over to the black cat and pulled him up.

"Do you know where our Emily is?"

She got another meow as an answer. Unfortunately she didn't understand him. Maybe he could have told her what had happened to Emily. Sergio meowed again. He looked hungry so JJ carried him over to the kitchen. She knew that that was the place where his bowl of cat food stood. It was empty. Another strange thing. Emily would never leave Sergio without food. After she had made sure that Sergio would be alright she called Hotch. He almost picked up immediately.

"Agent Hotchner"

"Hey Hotch, it's JJ. Emily is not at her apartment and it looks like she just vanished. I found a glass of unfinished wine. Her gun and badge are still here. As are her purse and phone. And her keys … Hotch the keys are also here…"

There was a moment of silent. JJ knew what was going through Hotch's mind right now. The same things that ran through her mind a few moment ago.

"Thank you for calling, JJ. Meet me back at the office. I think it's time to inform the team"

"Okay Hotch, I'm on my way"

JJ looked at Emily's apartment one more time. She didn't dare touching anything else. Afraid that she might contaminate the crime scene if it would become one. She locked the door behind her and made her way to the FBI building fast.

* * *

Morgan was halfway through his stack of paperwork when he saw JJ walk into the bullpen. She looked worried and he asked himself if it had to do anything with Emily being sick. Hotch was waiting for her in his office. After JJ walked in he shut the door. Reid had also looked up and changed a look with Morgan. They both had the feeling that there was something going on.

"Reid! Morgan! Conference room, now!"

Hotch had come out of his office with JJ behind him. Morgan let the file he was reading drop on his desk and walked towards the conference room. Garcia was already there, typing away on her laptop. She looked up at him briefly and gave him a smile. "Hey babygirl" He greeted her and plopped down on the chair next to him. Reid sat at the other side of the table and Hotch and JJ were standing before the smart board.

"As you might have noticed agent Prentiss is not here today. Yesterday she called in sick by JJ. She said she would be gone for a couple of days and she would go see a doctor. There is nothing wrong with that but we all know Emily. That's why I send JJ to check up on her"

He nodded to JJ. She took a deep breath and started talking.

"When I came to Prentiss' apartment she didn't answer the door. I used my spare key to let myself in. The lights were off and Prentiss wasn't there. But I did find some strange things. I found a glass of unfinished wine. Her gun, badge, purse and her phone were all there. And she left her keys on the table and Sergio without food."

"What do you think happened to her?" Garcia asked in a small voice.

"We don't know. That's why we want you to pull up the surveillance video from her building. JJ said Prentiss called two hours after she left work."

"Okay, I am pulling it up know"

A video of Prentiss' hallway popped up on the smart board. They saw fast walking figures come and go but there was no sign of Prentiss. At 7 pm a figure came out of the elevator and walked towards Prentiss' apartment. Garcia slowed the video to a normal pace.

"There's our girl"

They all saw Prentiss unlocking the door and walking in. She looked fine, maybe a little tired but not sick. The video fast forwarded again. Fifteen minutes later another figure walked towards Prentiss' apartment. Garcia slowed the video again and zoomed in on the door. It was definitely a male but they couldn't see his face clearly. As soon as Prentiss opened the door the man made a gesture with his hand.

"Guys, did he just blow Prentiss a kiss?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, I thinks so… Maybe he's a friend of Emily" JJ said.

"Or maybe more than a friend" Garcia stated with a twinkle in her eyes. "Oh, she lets him in"

The hallway on the video was empty again. After half an hour they both walked out the door. The unknown man in the front and Prentiss walking behind him. There was a distance between them so he couldn't have forced her out of the building. When the elevator doors closed Garcia stopped the video.

"She just left with a friend. Maybe he brought her to a doctor and she stayed with him overnight." Reid tried.

"But they don't look really close. When they walked out of the apartment there was a distance between them and she never smiled at him when she let him in." Morgan said.

"You don't think she ran again, do you? Just like with Doyle?" Garcia asked Hotch. His eyes were still fixated on the screen. His glare was cold.

"It would explain all of this. JJ said that her apartment looked like she just vanished. And now this guy." Before Hotch could say anything else JJ interrupted him.

"No, she wouldn't do that! She tried so hard to win our trust again. She wouldn't throw that away so easily. You know her better than that, Hotch. You all do."

JJ shook her head and walked out of the conference room. She had tears in her eyes. No way that Emily would have just left them. Hotch tried to grab her arm but she shook it loose. He felt guilty. He hadn't meant it to sound so harsh.

"JJ has a point there, Hotch" Reid said to him.

The atmosphere in the room had changed. All of the agents looked a bit defeated. They all knew JJ was right. But that still didn't explain what had happened to Emily.

"And besides, Prentiss would have come up with a better excuse. She knows that none of us would believe her if she said that she was going to see a doctor." Morgan tried with a bit of humor.

"Alright, let's for now believe Prentiss' story about being sick and that she went to see a doctor. I will stop by her place tonight and tomorrow we will see how we proceed further. Garcia, I want you to see if you have a good shot of his face. I want to know who that guy is. Also try if you can see where they are going, alright?"

"Yes sir" Garcia closed her laptop and left.

"Reid, Morgan, make sure you finish your paperwork. There's nothing you can do right now."

Having said that Hotch left the conference room to find JJ. He felt like she deserved an apology. He found her in the kitchen trying to make a cup of coffee. But her hands were shaking and Hotch could see the tears in her eyes. He walked towards her and hugged her. He gently took the cup of coffee and the coffee pot and placed them on the counter.

"JJ, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said. Please forgive me." Hotch pleaded.

JJ nodded and looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "I'm just so scared. What if something bad happened to Emily. We can't lose her again."

"Hey JJ, we have to stay positive. I'm sure it's just all a misunderstanding and that Emily is fine. I'm sure she's fine, JJ."

He hugged her again and he could feel the tension that JJ had been holding vanishing. When he said it one more time he didn't know if it was to reassure JJ or to reassure himself.

"I'm sure she's fine."

* * *

_To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Deadly research**

_Emily wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there. A man claims that she volunteered to help him with his research. However Emily soon finds out that his research might break her completely. Can the team find her before it's too late? Do they even know she's been kidnapped? _

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters._

_Story is set in season 7_

* * *

_Chapter three_

Emily had been staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours. She felt the effects of the drug slowly wearing of. But it had left her with a dry mouth and a pounding headache. She sighed. She hated that he had drugged her. Again. Probably not with the same drug as the first time because she could remember the meeting with her captor very clearly. She wondered what he wanted from her. His last whispers kept repeating themselves in her head. _Tomorrow we will begin with the first tests. Rest for now, you will need it…_

He had cuffed her wrists to the table again. Tighter this time. No matter how hard she pulled her hands wouldn't slip through them. Luckily the cuffs were made of leather or else her wrists would have already been rubbed raw from all the twisting and pulling. She wanted to be able to do something. She didn't like doing nothing and doing nothing was all she could do at the moment. She already knew every detail of the room by heart. That's when she had noticed the little camera in the corner of the room. If Harrigan was watching her he would know that she was awake.

She wondered if her team knew she was missing. Harrigan had said that she called in sick so maybe they weren't even looking for her. She tried to picture herself on a normal day with her team. They were probably doing some paperwork since they had no case. Doing paperwork sounded so good right now. Anything better than just lying there. She could see herself and Morgan teaming up together to slip some of their paperwork onto Reid's pile and how JJ and Rossi were just watching amusingly. But the constant beeping brought her back to reality. She wasn't in the bullpen. Her friends weren't with her. She was still alone in that room.

She heard footsteps. Harrigan walked into the room suited in his white doctors coat. He stopped a few steps from where she was placed on the table and just looked at her. Like a doctor would look at his patient to see how she was doing. But a hint of desire in his eyes reminded her more of a predator looking at his prey.

His smile made her sick to her stomach. She would give anything to wipe that thing of his face. Her fists clenched and she noticed that she was unconsciously tugging at her bindings. Like a caged animal ready to attack. But she knew that attacking him would do her no good at the moment. He would probably sedate her again before she could try anything. And Emily didn't want any more drugs in her system than she already had. She needed to be lucid if the opportunity came to escape.

"Hello agent Prentiss, how are you feeling today?"

She stayed silent. Not in the mood to give the answer that he wanted from her.

"Cat got your tongue?" He asked with a smile.

She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. Emily had decided it was better to don't push his boundaries this soon. If he was delusional than the littlest thing could send him over the edge. But of course she couldn't help being the stubborn woman that she always was and give him a hard time. She wasn't prepared for his next move. He quickly closed the distance between them. Grabbed her chin and pulled her close so his face was inches away from hers.

"If you're planning on staying mute, I'll happily cut your tongue out."

She felt his hot breath in her face. His eyes stared right into hers. It became difficult to breath because he was almost on top of her. One hand holding on to the table, while his other held a firm grip on her jaw. Forcing her to look him in the eyes. The anger burning in his eyes made it clear that he wasn't making empty threats.

"I'm fine" She managed to stutter out. It was kind of painful because of his tight grip.

"What did you say?" He loosened it a little bit.

"I'm fine, thank you for asking, doctor." Emily answered him polite. She wanted the man with the creepy smile back. Harrigan's eyes softened and his smile found its way back on his face.

"Good, then we can get started."

* * *

"I got it!" Reid suddenly screamed out startling Morgan and JJ from their thoughts. Hotch had told them to work on their paperwork but none of them could set their minds to it at the moment. The room felt empty without Prentiss.

"What have your got, Spence?" JJ asked tiredly.

"I think I know what happened to Emily." Both Morgan and JJ looked up at him immediately. Morgan gave Reid a pat on his back before he quickly walked away. "I'll go and get Garcia and Hotch"

"Are you sure about this, Spencer?" JJ sounded hopeful. Reid nodded. Morgan came back a minute later with Hotch and Garcia right behind him. They all took a seat around Reid.

"Alright Reid, what did you find?" Hotch asked.

"Scopolamine, I think he drugged Prentiss with Scopolamine." Reid saw the questioning look on everybody else's faces. "Remember how he blew her a kiss. Scopolamine is also called the Devil's Breath and it is administered by blowing it into someone's face. When it starts working the person will basically do anything you want and will have no recollection of it when it's over."

"That's just terrifying" JJ gasped raising her hand for her mouth.

"But what could he have wanted from Prentiss?" Morgan asked.

"It is mostly used for robberies and date-rapes in Colombia"

"Oh my god" Garcia gasped.

"But what he wanted is hard to say. You become some sort of zombie. Following all the orders you get. He could make her do anything. Clear out her bank account, help them with a crime or give them secret information about her mother's job or the bureau." Reid continued.

"We have to consider that the unsub might not have chosen Prentiss because of her connections with her mother or with the FBI. It could also have been a random pick. That man didn't try to hide his identity. A professional wouldn't have made that mistake." Hotch stated.

"And if he wanted information why take her with him. Why risk the chance of being seen with her or the chance of her fighting back if the drug worked out?" Morgan filled in his story.

"Right… Reid, do you know where you can get this drug?" Hotch asked Reid.

"It's a common drug in Colombia, so the unsub could have connections there. It could be sold on the streets here in DC but it's not very known here in America. There's one more thing, you have to have knowledge of the drug if you want to use it. If you use a dosage that's too high you can kill the person you're drugging. And Prentiss looked okay when she got out of the apartment."

"So a drugs dealer?" Hotch again. The other agents were too stunned to say anything. Hearing Reid rambling about what could happen to Prentiss wasn't exactly comfortable.

"Yes, a drugs dealer is possible. Or maybe someone with medical knowledge. Not a lot of people know about the existence of this drug let alone how to use it correctly. They would rather use something like chloroform. The fact that this man knew about Scopolamine and how to use it correctly could tell us something about him."

"Alright, we should go to Prentiss' apartment. See if we can find some traces to support you theory, Reid. Garcia, I need you to stay here and see if you can ID that man." With that Hotch stood up from his chair and walked towards the elevator. All the agents except Garcia followed him. All hoping that this lead would help them find Prentiss.

Half an hour later the four agents walked into Emily's apartment building. They stepped in the elevator to go to her floor. It felt like an eternity before it stopped and the little ting told the agents that they had arrived at their destination. As soon as the doors opened they stepped out and headed straight to Emily's apartment. Reid stopped to look at the door while JJ took her keys to open it.

"Do you see something, Reid?" Hotch asked him. He was watching the young agent curiously.

"Maybe… JJ can you go inside and pretend your Emily?" JJ nodded. She pulled on a pair of gloves and stepped inside of her best friend's apartment. It was awfully quiet in the house. A memory of her and Emily sitting on the couch and having a good time flashed before her eyes. A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. JJ quickly opened the door and was met with the face of Spencer Reid. The sudden blow of air in her face caused her to jerk her head back and close her eyes real quick.

"Was that really necessary?" JJ asked grumpily. She bowed her head a bit to shake of the shock inside of her. But Reid didn't listen to her. He had watched her actions and was now looking intensely at the area by her feet.

"Uhm kid, it would be nice to share your thoughts with the rest of us." Morgan said. He had no idea what Reid was doing but he was sure that the genius had something going on in his mind.

"Here" He pointed at something on the floor. They all looked a bit closer. He was pointing at a few tiny spots of white powder. "I didn't find any trace of Scopolamine on the door. But if you blow a powder at someone then some evidence always stays behind. And when JJ just shook her head it dawned on me that Emily might have done the same. That's when I found this."

He could see that the other agents looked impressed.

"Good thinking, pretty boy" Morgan gave him a pat on the shoulder. Morgan was relieved to see that Reid still functioned like the genius he was. On the ride to the apartment he had looked like a lost puppy and Morgan had wondered if it might have been too hard to handle for him.

"All right, let's bag it so we can get it to the lab to be processed." As always Hotch's voice was professional and his eyes didn't show any of the concerns he felt inside.

* * *

The electrodes felt heavy at her temples. Harrigan had rolled a machine next to the table and was now busy trying to clamp an electrode at her left finger. Emily had seen it earlier and knew that is was some sort of electrocution device. Her suspicions were confirmed when he started to place the electrodes on her body. Emily tightened her fists. She was not going to cooperate with this stupid experiment. If you could even call it an experiment. Torturing someone didn't feel like research to her.

"Come on, don't be so stubborn." He sounded frustrated. His fingers were pulling at her hand. But she kept it close. Her nails pushed themselves in the palm of her hand. Emily gritted her teeth. She would not give in to this man.

After a while he let go of it and took a step back. She felt a wave of triumph traveling through her body. He walked out of her view and Emily craned her neck to see what he was going to do. She could hear him walk around the table. When she shifted her head from left to right a burst of pain shot through her whole left side. Emily cringed. Her mouth opened and she let out a bloodcurdling scream. She closed her eyes and willed her body to stay in control. Her arm felt like it was on fire. The pain started somewhere in her shoulder and spread down her body. It had caused her muscles to tense up and she couldn't control them anymore. This time only a small cry escaped her lips. Then it was over. The intense pain was gone and her body relaxed. Emily was panting. She still felt a painful tingling sensation racing up and down her left side before the feeling in her arm disappeared at all.

Harrigan took advantage of her dazed state and clamped the electrode at her finger. She didn't feel it. Her arm felt like it belonged to someone else. There was no feeling in it. It scared her. She still had no idea what had just happened. Emily tried to take deep breaths. She had to get her body back under control.

"What did you do?" She managed to get out but the shakiness in her voice betrayed her.

"I hit a nerve cluster right under your shoulder muscle. As you might have noticed the pain is pretty intense. I know everything about the human body and this wasn't even the most painful spot. So I suggest that you start cooperating or next time it will be a whole lot more painful."

Harrigan showed a kind of needle in his hand. It was a long metal pin with a sharp tip at the end. She guessed that he had used that to cause the pain. She nodded that she would cooperate. Her mind told her to take it slow for a while. At this point there was no chance to escape. She just had to wait until that moment came. Besides she'd rather not find out what those even more painful spots were. The feeling in her arm still hadn't returned.

In the meantime Harrigan had gone further with placing the electrodes on her body. There were two at her temples, at her arms, at her index fingers, at her thighs and at her toes. She realized that this was why she was in a change of clothes. Again the trail of shivers on her back at the thought of Harrigan changing her clothing. She pushed the thought back into a corner of her mind. Now was not the time to become weak.

Emily knew that she had to stall him. Harrigan was busy getting the device ready and she knew that she didn't have much time left.

"Are you going to let me go when you're done with your research?" She asked with a sweet voice. This time she felt like she was the one talking to a little child. He stared at her for a minute before nodding slightly. He opened her eye wide and shone in it with a bright light. As a reflex she jerked her head back. She already prepared herself for another outburst but Harrigan stayed silent. Emily made a mental note of that.

"So when can I go home?" she tried again. "Soon" He mumbled under his breath avoiding her eye-contact. She knew that he was lying. It didn't take a profiler to see that. He pushed a button on the machine and the light turned green. At that moment Emily knew that things were going to get ugly.

* * *

"Sir, I've got some good news and some bad news." Garcia's usually cheery voice was full of worry. He put his phone on speaker so the other agents could hear it too.

"The good news first, please."

"I've got an ID on that man. His name is Matthew Jenkins."

"That's great! Good job, Garcia"

"The bad news is that Matthew Jenkins has been dead for three years."

* * *

_To be continued..._

_Please let me know what you think of it so far._


	4. Chapter 4

**Deadly research**

_Emily wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there. A man claims that she volunteered to help him with his research. However Emily soon finds out that his research might break her completely. Can the team find her before it's too late? Do they even know she's been kidnapped? _

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters._

_Story is set in season 7_

* * *

_C__hapter four_

Emily saw the light on the device turn green. Harrigan was standing with his back towards her, but she could hear him mumbling things. Although it was unclear what he was saying Emily could clearly hear her name several times. She laid her head back and stared at the ceiling. She fumbled with the clamps around her fingers. The waiting was killing her.

She was certain that she could handle the pain, but she wasn't exactly looking forward to it. She could feel the panic rising inside of her. Her heartbeat matched the rapid beeping ringing in her ears. No matter how hard she tried not to show her fear she knew that her heartbeat would betray her every time. She willed herself to calm down, to calm her heartbeat, but Harrigan had already noticed it.

"You don't need to be scared, agent Prentiss. I will take good care of you." Harrigan had taken his attention of the device and was now standing next to her.

"Take good care of me? You're about to hurt me!" Emily snapped back. He wasn't your average kidnapper. She knew that he truly believed in his research and didn't think hurting her was a bad thing. Emily knew that he would show her no mercy. She was just a test subject to him. He probably wouldn't stop if she begged him to. Not that she was planning on doing that any time soon.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Oh yeah? Then what is that device, huh?"

"I'm not going to hurt you, because pain doesn't exist. Pain is created by the brain. It's just a trick of your mind, agent Prentiss. If you'll be strong, then you will see that."

"Is that your excuse of torturing people?"

"I do not torture people. I'm not a savage." He was still smiling, but she could see his eyes darken.

"You know what I think. I think you're just hiding your true identity behind that white coat of yours. You secretly find pleasure in seeing other people suffer, don't you. The suffering that you caused."

"Shut up! You got it all wrong!"

"I don't think so." Emily knew that she was in for a lot of pain, but it was all part of her plan. Trying to get him over the edge so that he would shock her into unconsciousness. With that she hoped that she could buy her team some time. Besides, she had a feeling that this research would do a lot of damage to her. Far worse than the pain of a few shocks would do if he lost control.

"No! I'm not a monster. I am not a monster!"

He pushed the button on the device. Emily braced herself. She could handle this. The wave of electricity hit her. It wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, but it was still an unpleasant experience. She gritted her teeth to prevent any sound coming out of her mouth. Her whole body was shaking. Her muscles clenched and unclenched.

Harrigan was holding the button for a long time before he let finally go. Emily felt her body fall back onto the table. Her body hurt like hell but the pain was bearable. The voltage not nearly strong enough to escape the dance at this point.

"Now, look at what you made me do."

His voice had changed again. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and gently wiped the sweat of her forehead. Like the incident had never happened.

"So what's your research about?" Her voice croaked. She cleared her throat. Her dry mouth was beginning to annoy her. She would give anything for a sip of water at the moment. Her parched throat protested every time she swallowed.

He looked at her. Almost as if he was considering if he should answer her.

"My research, agent Prentiss, is about how to change people. To change the evil inside of them."

"Why would you want to change people? How can you even decide what's evil and what isn't?"

"Criminals, people who do bad things, people who hurt others. They never change, because there is evil inside of them. It's a lie when they say that they are a changed man when they get out of prison. But I will make them change. I will destroy the evil inside of them! So they can never hurt anyone ever again."

Emily could see his eyes light up when he spoke. He was obsessed with this idea of changing people. Almost as if it was personal. Maybe he lost a friend or family to a 'changed' criminal and this was his way of dealing with it.

"The day we met, I knew that you and I thought the same way. You told me that people don't change. But I could see in your eyes that you wanted them to. Just like me. We have the same goal!"

_Did I meet him before? _He did look vaguely familiar. Emily scanned her memories. But they had had so many cases. She had been to so many places. She came up empty. She had no idea where they could have met.

"I never said that people don't change. If someone really wants to then he can change. But he has to want it himself. You can't force somebody to change."

Harrigan was looking intensely at her now. Nodding his head.

"Exactly. They have to want it themselves. But how many people actually want to change? So here's the thing if we can plant the idea of wanting to chance then they will change willingly. We only have to break them before we can do that."

She understood what he was trying to say. The experiments that he was going to perform on her had everything to do with it.

"So that's where I come in."

"Yes! I couldn't stop thinking about our conversation. I knew that we had the same goal, I knew that you would want to help."

"Well, I'm flattered that you chose me, but it won't work. Your research won't work. The human mind is not a computer. You can't just reprogram it whenever you feel like it."

"That's not the same."

"It is. Besides, that method of breaking people and changing them has been tried many times before. It didn't work then and it won't work now, trust me." She was speaking slowly. Her voice low trying to give her words more strength.

The moment those words escaped her lips Emily knew that she had gone too far. She saw the look in his eyes change. Felt the death grip he took on both of her shoulders.

"I will make it work! I have to make it work! Aargghh, It wasn't supposed to go like this. You were supposed to understand me. We have the same goal, remember? We want to make people better."

He shook her with every word. Forcing her to look him in the eyes. He looked desperate and angry at the same time. Emily knew that that was a dangerous combination, but it also meant that there was more chance that he would slip up.

"Criminal behavior is not a disease. You can't cure it."

"Yes, I can!" He was yelling now.

Instead of shaking her he was now violently slamming her into the table. With every hit the back of her head cracked against the metal surface. Her head felt like it was going to explode. The sequence just kept repeating itself. She felt herself be lifted up. Then slammed back down. Her shoulders hit the table first and her head an instant later. Every time feeling the pain before the BANG reached her ears.

Her vision blurred. Harrigan's face above her began to double. Emily could hear him yelling words at her, but she didn't hear them, didn't understand them. His voice sounded so far away. The only thing present was the pain. The intense pain that just didn't want to stop. Black spots filled her vision and she felt herself drifting away. The darkness pulling her into unconsciousness. Her eyes rolled back. Once more her head hit the table. But Emily didn't feel it anymore.

* * *

Emily woke up with a shock. Her body jerked forward. Her eyes flew open and she was suddenly very awake. Emily felt a burning sensation in her nostrils and lungs. When she had calmed down a bit she noticed that she was still tied down on the table with all the electrodes on her body.

Harrigan appeared in her visual and he began to tap her on the cheeks. The pain in her head suddenly came back and hit her with full force. She groaned. She was sure that she was going to be sick. She closed her eyes to see if that would help a bit against the nausea. The tapping started again.

"Wake up. Come on, wake up."

She didn't want to wake up. To open her eyes and see the reality. A strong smell burned her nostrils. Her eyes flew open and her head started to ache. Harrigan's hand was close to her face holding a smelling salt.

"Good girl. There you go."

He stroked her hair and she rolled her eyes at him. He rolled the device a bit closer before he looked at her again.

"So, we are going to try this again. But this time without you talking."

Before Emily had time to take in his words, Harrigan opened her mouth, pushed a gag inside it and tied it behind her head. Emily made some discontented noises.

"Are you ready?"

Emily just stared at him, hatred burning in her eyes.

"I take your silence as a yes."

He still got no response from her. Emily just laid there sending looks of hatred into his skull. He turned the dial of the device three quarters and Emily swallowed slowly.

"We're going to start off slow."

_Right, like three quarters is starting off slow._ She didn't show him any emotion, he wouldn't get to see any weakness. He pushed the button. The familiar stream of electricity rushed through her body, shaking every body part on its way. She bit down on the gag. It was much stronger than the shock that he had given her earlier. When it stopped her body felt drained. She felt tired, her body ached, hunger pains stabbed her stomach and her head was killing her.

_No, Emily Prentiss you cannot give up this easily. _She scolded herself for that moment of weakness and she pushed all the pain back into a corner of her mind. Then she looked up to Harrigan with a look of determination. The corners of her mouth pulled up as far as it was possible with a gag. Harrigan smiled back, but his eyes stayed cold. He turned the dial a bit further before he pushed the button again.

When Emily was on the verge of passing out he stopped. Her eyes were closed, eyebrows pushed together into a frown. The smelling salt was pushed under her nose and she was startled awake. Before she could recover the electricity was already flowing through her body again.

Harrigan brought her closer to unconsciousness with every shock, but each time he brought her back to reality to start it all over again. Emily lost count of how many times he had shocked her. Her body in constant pain. She longed for the peaceful state of unconsciousness, but Harrigan wouldn't let her go there. Another shock hit her body and the heartbeat machine went crazy again. It annoyed her.

She was panting. The electricity absorbed all the energy she had left in her body. Emily's lungs burned and she tried to breathe in as much oxygen as she could. Almost choking on the gag. _Breathe,_ that was the only coherent thought that her tired mind could form. She got shocked again. This time Emily just closed her eyes and welcomed the darkness.

She got shocked awake and Emily slowly opened her eyes. The bright lights above her blinded her. Her eyes were bloodshot and her body was clammy from all the sweat.

"It's time that you woke up. You have been sleeping for hours."

She hadn't noticed that the torture had stopped but that was probably because she had passed out. Harrigan looked different. He didn't wear his doctors coat and his eyes were as dark as the night. He had removed the gag at some point. The rag had left an awful taste in her mouth.

"Tell me, how did that feel?" Emily saw him looking with a huge smile on his face. His eyes were dark and he was clearly enjoying seeing her suffer.

"The last one just tickled a little." Emily was glad that her voice sounded strong. Her tired eyes focused on his face and she gave him something that was supposed to be a smirk.

He pushed the button again and she tried with all her might not to scream out in pain. It took Emily a few seconds to get her breathing under control.

"I thought you didn't enjoy hurting people."

Harrigan just ignored her comment.

"I've been thinking about what you said earlier and you're right. I don't really want to change people. I just want them to suffer and I want to enjoy it. So maybe I'm just doing this to find out the best way to hurt somebody."

Emily cleared the lump in her throat. This wasn't how she expected it to go. She thought that he would lose control like all the other times, but this man was full of confidence. A smug smile decorated his face and his hand flowed above the button, mocking her.

"I really should thank you, Emily. You made me embrace my real identity and that made me so much stronger. So… that's why I brought you a little gift."

"I don't want anything from you." Emily snarled.

"Feisty, I like that. But I think you do want this one." He grinned. He walked over to the table and picked up something. When he turned around she could see him holding a sandwich and a bottle of water. She hadn't eaten in a very long time and her mouth felt like paper. Her stomach growled. Harrigan must have heard it because he looked at her with excitement in his eyes.

"When was the last time you ate something? Two, three days ago?"

He placed the sandwich on her stomach and the bottle of water next to her on the table. She couldn't help but look at it longingly. She heard him chuckle but she didn't look up. She couldn't take her eyes of the food. It was so close and yet so far.

Finally, she turned her head to face him. Her eyes almost begging to let her eat it, but he just walked towards the door.

"Bon appétit!"

He gave her a wink before exiting the room. The door closed behind him with a bang.

Emily closed her eyes. Maybe she wouldn't feel the hunger so much if she didn't see the sandwich staring at her. But she could feel its pressure on her stomach, almost as if it was begging her to eat it. She felt like she was going crazy. The torture and dehydration were already doing their damage.

She yanked at the cuffs. Her mind said that she had to save her strength, but she wasn't thinking clearly anymore. She pulled again. Angry at the cuffs for standing in the way of the food and water. Angry at them for holding her in this place. Angry at them for preventing her to hit Harrigan in his face. A sob escaped her lips. Her eyes started to water and she didn't do anything to stop the tears from falling. She just prayed that her team would find her soon.

* * *

_To be continued..._

_Please let me know what you think of it so far._


	5. Chapter 5

**Deadly research**

_Emily wakes up in a strange place with no memory of how she got there. A man claims that she volunteered to help him with his research. However Emily soon finds out that his research might break her completely. Can the team find her before it's too late? Do they even know she's been kidnapped? _

* * *

_Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or any of the characters._

_Story is set in season 7_

* * *

_Chapter five_

"What do you mean he has been dead for three years? Are you sure you have the right guy, Garcia?"

"Yes sir, it's him. Three years ago Matthew Jenkins was in a car accident together with his brother in law and his niece. The car completely burned down, so there weren't any remains left to examine. But all three of them presumably died in the fire."

"But they never found his body?"

"No sir."

"All right, see what you can find about him. We'll be there in 30 minutes."

"Yes, sir."

Hotch disconnected the phone and looked at the other three agents. Nobody said anything. They were still processing the piece of information that they had just received

"I think it's time to call Rossi." Morgan stated. Rossi was currently on vacation, but with Emily missing they could use all the manpower they could get.

"You're right, I'll call him. Go back to the bureau and see if you can help Garcia."

Hotch nodded to the three agents and walked to his car, while dialing Dave. It rang three times before Dave picked up.

"Hey, Aaron. Is everything alright?" Dave knew that Hotch wouldn't just call him while he was on vacation. Unless there was something going on.

"Dave, Prentiss is missing." The seriousness was evident in his voice.

"Emily… What happened?"

"We're still trying to figure that out. All we know is that someone drugged her and took her from her own apartment." Hotch could hear Rossi gasp on the other side of the line.

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Dave. We really need you at the moment."

* * *

Emily floated on the verge of consciousness and unconsciousness. Her body had disconnected itself from the outside world to save the strength that she had left. It was hours ago that Harrigan had left her alone in that room. At first she could handle everything. The hunger pains stabbing her stomach, the everlasting thirst and her aching body. But with the hours ticking by Emily felt like she was going crazy. Her delirious mind told her to fight which she did. She tugged on the bonds until her wrist turned red from the tension and there was no energy left in her body. Her breathing had gotten quick and shallow until she finally fell in a restless sleep.

A voice seeped through her clouded mind waking her from her light slumber. She tried to concentrate on what is was saying but her tired mind couldn't make anything of it. A light tapping on her cheek caught her attention. The little movement was annoying. Her head turned to the side and a moan left her mouth.

"Come on, wake up" The words were slowly transforming into coherent language. Emily opened her eyes and blinked a few times before the world took shape. A hand turned her head to the other side. The sudden change of direction made her head spin. A headache started at the base of her skull.

"Drink" The harsh voice boomed through the air again. A water bottle was placed on her lips and water poured into her mouth. A hand supported her head while another poured the water into her dry mouth. The water felt heavenly to her parched throat and Emily drank greedily. Almost choking on it in the process because she was drinking so fast.

"Easy, easy, you shouldn't drink so fast if you want to keep it inside." Harrigan's voice was kind, but demanding.

She knew he was right but the liquid felt so refreshing. When she didn't listen to him he removed the bottle from her parched lips. She reached for it, her mouth slightly open and her eyes focused on the water. With his index finger he lifted her chin so she was looking at him.

"I'm serious. It's not good for you to drink so fast after not drinking anything for three days."

"Well, whose fault is that?" She asked sarcastic. Her voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. He kept quiet. Instead he just lifted the bottle up to her lips again and poured the water gently in her mouth. The access of liquid stopped for a second time.

"More, please…" She pleaded. She didn't want to die just because she was too stubborn to ask for water. Again the bottle was placed at her lips and she drank until it was empty. Her body already felt a bit better. Then he pointed at the sandwich lying on her stomach.

"You want some?"

Emily rolled her eyes at him. She didn't want to give him the pleasure of begging for it. He just picked up the sandwich, tore of a piece and pushed it inside her mouth. So far that it made her gag and before she could swallow it another piece was shoved down her throat. She quickly swallowed it and looked him in the eyes.

"I would rather feed myself." He ignored her and the next piece of bread was already in his hand. She turned her head before he could continue the process.

"Did you even listen to what I said? I'm perfectly capable of feeding myself!" Emily raised her voice. The fact that he was feeding her was embarrassing.

"Alright!" He growled at her. "But no funny business. I wouldn't want to have to shoot you." He pulled out a gun and waved it before her eyes. Emily nodded. Harrigan uncuffed her ankles first before he moved to her wrists. As soon as she was free she began to massage her muscles. They were stiff from having been in the same position for so long. He took a step back and pointed at the half finished sandwich.

"Go ahead."

Emily swallowed. Reluctantly she picked up the sandwich and began to chew on it. It was dry and tasteless but her stomach welcomed it with pleasure. She never took her eyes of Harrigan and he returned her glare with one of his smirks. When she finished the sandwich, she just sat on the table and waited for Harrigan to make his move. She needed him to believe that she wouldn't fight back. He took a pair of handcuffs pit of his pocket and jingled it before her eyes. Hoping to get a reaction from his prisoner, but Emily kept a straight face.

"I have a surprise for you." He took a step in her direction.

"No, please." She pleaded with him hoping that he would fall for it.

"Sorry" He said with a shrug of his shoulders. He stood right in front of her and clicked one of the cuffs around her wrist. Then he bent down to grab her other one. Emily took her chance and head butted him with all her might. She heard him yelp and Harrigan reached for his nose. Emily jumped of the table and kneed him in the groin. With a gasp he doubled over. The gun flew out of his hand and skidded across the floor. Emily made a move for it but Harrigan dove on top of her. She fell down hard. Her chin hit the concrete with a sickening crack. Her eyes began to water and a few tears threatened to escape.

She reached for the gun. Her fingertips brushed against it before Harrigan grabbed her hand and slammed it down on the floor. A cry of pain erupted from her throat when she felt her wrist snap. Emily pulled her hand from his grasp and send her elbow backwards hitting him square in the face. He rolled off of her and Emily scrambled to her feet. She had to grab the table to steady herself. Her legs felt like they could give in any moment.

Harrigan was still on the floor holding his head. His nose was bleeding and a nasty bruise was already beginning to form on the side of his head. Emily picked up the gun and clicked off the safety. When she turned around Harrigan was already on his feet. A smile on his lips. Slowly taking a step in her direction. Emily aimed the gun at him

"Stay right there"

But Harrigan didn't stop. He just kept on coming. His cocky smile began to annoy her and an uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.

"I said stay back!"

Harrigan lunged at her grabbing her hand holding the gun. Emily struggled to keep control of it. Her wrist was shaking under the pressure and she  
felt the barrel of the gun turn to her direction. She used all her strength to push back for one more time. Then the trigger was pulled.

* * *

Hotch walked into the conference room where all the other agents were already waiting for him. They all looked at him with hope in their eyes. He looked down for a second before he looked at all single one of them. He sighed. It was hard on his team when they weren't complete. It just felt so empty without Prentiss' presence in the room.

"Rossi is on his way back. He will join us as soon as he can." Hotch took a seat before he continued. "Garcia, have you found anything on Matthew Jenkins?"

"All the properties that he owned have been sold and so are the ones from his brother in law. His parental house has been broken down last year and mother is in a nursing home, but no one has visited her the last three years. I'm looking for any aliases that he might use, but that will take some time, sir." Garcia updated him.

"CSU confirmed that the powder was Scopolamine. They also found some fingerprints by the door, they too belong to Matthew Jenkins." Reid said handing Hotch some files.

"So, it is safe to say that that Matthew Jenkins is still alive and might have staged his own death. Have you done a background check on him, Garcia?" Hotch asked. His face remained professional as he studied the file that Reid had handed him.

"Yes and he has no criminal record. Not even a speeding ticket. He lived a pretty dull live until his sister got murdered by a man who was out on parole for good behavior. It went pretty downhill from that point. He was a student in Med school and there were several concerning reports about him because he wanted to run experiments on human test subjects. Apparently he wanted to use electrical shock devices to break people, so that they could be changed." She never looked up from her tablet. When she was finished she just stared at her hands, not moving at all. Hotch thought that he saw a tear running down her face, but he didn't say anything. He knew that it was harder for Garcia than for anyone on the team. She wasn't used to being close to a victim. He caught himself calling Prentiss a victim and he immediately felt guilty. Emily wasn't a victim. She was a strong and independent woman.

"Those ideas were probably triggered by the death of his sister. A criminal says that he has changed, goes out of parole and starts killing again. Maybe he thinks that people can't change themselves, so he has to do it himself." Morgan came with a theory. The other agents nodded in agreement. That did sound logical.

"So he has chosen Emily because she has to change? But she isn't a criminal." JJ spoke softly.

"Maybe she reminded him of his sister or did she inspire him in some way." Morgan resumed his theory.

"Where did he go to Med school, Garcia?" Hotch asked. Garcia scrolled on her tablet until she found the part of information that was needed.

"Uhm, let me see… A University in Phoenix."

"Emily gave a lecture in Phoenix once, maybe he saw her there." Reid spoke out loud.

"Yes, I remember that, because she kept complaining that there was this one man that kept stalking her. He wanted to know her opinion about if criminals could change…" Her voice faded to a whisper when JJ realized what she had said. That could have been the man that took Emily.

"That can't be a coincidence."

* * *

Emily pulled the trigger. But nothing happened. There was no bang, no leap back. Just a click. The gun was empty. There had never been a bullet inside.

"Did you really think that I would just give you a weapon?"Harrigan asked her. His confident smile had grown bigger.

"Well, you did give me a weapon." Emily smiled and hit him with the butt of the gun to the side of his head. Almost hard enough to knock him unconsciously. He reached for the side of his head and Emily hit him again. Harrigan fell down and Emily didn't wait to see if he was out cold. She ran down the hallway hoping to find a way out of that place. It looked like an abandoned hospital. The lights above her flickered on and off and it gave the place a creepy look. At the end of the hall was a door that probably lead to the staircase, but it was locked. Emily kicked against it but it wouldn't budge. She quickly scanned the rest of the corridor and saw a window on the other side.

It was nailed shut with wooden planks and a little bit of light came through the gaps. Emily pulled at one of them and it broke off. The hole that it created was just big enough to squeeze through. She grabbed the sides of the window and pushed herself through it. She was one the first floor and Emily guessed that it was a few meters to the ground. She took a deep breath and jumped. She landed hard on the ground and rolled further to absorb the impact. The wind was knocked out of her and she stayed down for a few moments trying to catch her breath. The whole thing had hurt like hell. She guessed jumping out of a building didn't really help her already bruised body.

She dragged herself to her feet. She didn't have the time to give up now. There was enough time to rest later. Emily ran towards the cover of the thick forest and she kept on running. She ignored the little twigs stabbing the soles of her bare feet and the cold seeping into her bones. After a while she was panting. Her muscles ached and there was no energy left in her body. She had no idea where she was going to. Everywhere around her were trees and she was not sure if the forest would ever end. But she knew that she would rather die out here than at the hands of a crazy lunatic. The thought of her team made her abandon the negative thinking. She didn't want to die, she wanted to go back to her family.

All she could focus on was to place one foot in front of the other. Her pace had slowed down until it was nothing more than a light jogging. Her foot caught behind a root of a tree and Emily fell down hard. A little dazed she laid on the ground. She pushed herself up with her hands and took a little step. Her left foot collapsed under the pressure and she stumbled to her knees. Her ankle hurt like hell and she was certain that she had sprained something. She tried taking a few steps but her ankle was useless. Emily hopped to the nearest tree and slowly lowered herself against it. Her body just felt so heavy. It was tired of fighting. She was tired of fighting. Her head fell back against the trunk and Emily let the darkness consume her.

* * *

_To be continued..._

_Please let me know what you think of it so far. I will try to update the next chapter soon, but I'm quite busy at the moment. So I can't make any promises._


End file.
